THE LIBERTY OF ST. MARTIN' S-LE-GRAND 33 



last that he wrote, but a few days later Secretary 

 Sh- Francis Freelmg was dead. 



Freeling's death took place in London on July 10, 

 1836. For a few weeks postal affairs were adminis- 

 tered by his eldest son, George Henry, who held the 

 office of Assistant- Secretary. A vacancy soon occur- 

 ring in the Commission of Customs, Sir George was 

 appointed to it, and the Freeling dynasty, at the Post- 

 Office, came wholly to an end. 



The name itself survived within the walls of the 

 department until a few years back, directly in the 

 person of the late Mr. F. H. Freeling, Surveyor of the 

 department in the Channel Islands, and indirectly in 

 that of Mr. Freeling J. Lawrence, an esteemed official 

 who, after long service, has retired into private life. 



A part of my apprenticeship to secretarial work in 

 Smirke's Post-Office was served under a master of his 

 craft, whom I will call X, and who sat in a room, 

 shared by two assistants, which looked out, at the 

 back, on Foster Lane. One of these — Y — was of a 

 theatrical turn, and the other was, I think, the son 

 of a literary man. Both were jovial spirits. Of them 

 there was related to me many years ago a mirthful 

 incident, the account of which, no doubt, has received 

 some embellishments in repetition. 



One day the chief was absent. The two assistants, 

 as the day wore on, whiled away the time by bom- 

 barding each other with official books and bundles 

 of X's office-papers. It was hot weather, and the 

 windows were open. At length, by mischance, out of 



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